September 4, 2013

Short Wait For Second Catfight

Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca

With only eight teams in the CFL, the chance for revenge against any particular team is never too far down the road.

That’s been especially true in 2013 for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who are midway through what is already their third home-and-home set of the season, this time against the BC Lions. Revenge will certainly be on the minds of Ticats players this weekend after seeing their three-game winning streak snapped Friday night in Vancouver.

“Losing sucks, period,” said linebacker Simoni Lawrence. “But when you lose because of plays that you should have made, and you lose by three points, you look back at it like ‘we’re good enough to beat that team, we should have won that game.’”

Athletes are a notoriously proud bunch, and Lawrence is no different. As one of the most vocal members of the Ticats defence, he admitted that the trash-talk from Friday’s game will certainly carry over into this week’s follow-up.

“I have to finish that conversation I had on the field,” said a laughing Lawrence after practice on Tuesday.  

But in addition to the motivational aspect of a back-to-back set, he also discussed the advantages of game-planning for a team whose system is still so fresh in the players’ minds.

“I like the back-to-back games because it gives you a chance to feel out everybody on the other side,” he said. “The first time out you’re working on what you think a guy will do based on film, but in the second game you’ve already played those guys. It’s easier to make big plays.”

“That’s the benefit of playing a team back-to-back,” said Defensive Coordinator Orlondo Steinauer. “You have to watch the same team over and over, so eventually you’re just ready to get that revenge.”

Ticats pivot Henry Burris is also keen to make-up for what he thought was a sluggish Ticats start to Friday’s loss.

“It’s still fresh in our minds, especially with it being such a close game and us having opportunities to keep ourselves in the game,” he said.  “We’ve got to get out to a faster start. The bottom line for us is we got too many penalties early on against a team with that much veteran skill.”

Despite BC Place’s reputation as a difficult venue to win in as a road team, the Ticats were just a score away from taking two points on hostile ground against the Lions.

This weekend however, the battle will shift to Guelph, where the Cats are 2–2 and have the advantage of the home crowd on their side.

There’s no better place to start a new winning stream.